New Syrup makes things sweet in Cherry Creek

Tim Doherty wanted out of the bar business, and after running Lodo's Bar & Grill for sixteen years, who can blame him?

"I was so over getting home at 3 a.m., and I wanted an enjoyable social life," says Doherty, who ditched the bar scene for the breakfast beat, when he opened Syrup last week in the former Egg Shell of Cherry Creek space at 300 Josephine Street. "I was in Vero Beach, Florida with my dad having breakfast at a place called the Lemon Tree, when I just knew that I was done with bars and wanted to do a breakfast joint instead," recalls Doherty, who hired Thomas Willis, the opening chef of the Twisted Olive, to run the galley.

Willis, who has also worked for Rock Bottom Brewery and LoDo's, is a guy after my own heart. "Butter and bacon drippings are king, here," declares Willis, who's originally from Brooklyn. "My kitchen," he insists, "is all about scratch cooking. You can't buy flavor, or depth, or my heart if the food is pre-made."

Sugar-powdered beignets from Syrup

Lori Midson

To that end, Willis makes his own beignets, corned beef hash (which is awesome), green chile studded with pork (also excellent), hollandaise sauce and syrups, including a tart green apple-cinnamon and a lush buttermilk syrup.

Lori Midson

Why the obsession with syrup? "Jon Schlegel from Snooze went after butter, so I started infusing maple syrups at home, and they tasted really good" explains Doherty, who admits that pancakes -- with syrup, natch -- are his favorite dish of the day. By the end of the summer, he adds, they'll have at least 30 different housemade syrups, some of which will be sugar-free.

But there's more to Syrup, then, well syrup. According to Doherty, lunch has been a huge hit, too. "All of our burgers are hand-crafted, and we're doing a great open-faced Thanksgiving sandwich with roasted turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and turkey gravy that people love, too" says Doherty. "We're also trying to use as many local ingredients as possible," including, notes Doherty, sausage from Tonali's Meats.

Syrup is open Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. For more info, dial 720-945-1111.